To protect workers who work at heights or are at risk of falling distances, lifelines interconnecting support structures and safety harnesses donned by workers are commonly used. Examples of lifelines include but are not limited to self-retracting lifelines, lanyards, and other suitable lifelines. If a fall event occurs, the lifeline limits the distance the worker could fall, however, injury to the worker could still occur if, for example, the fall distance before the lifeline becomes taut is significant. Energy absorbers are typically used in conjunction with such fall arrest equipment to provide a more gradual, less abrupt stop, which assists in preventing or reducing injuries because energy absorbers absorb some of the kinetic energy of the falling body.
Energy absorbers could interfere with the operation of such fall arrest equipment, especially if they are relatively large and/or are in positions where they could easily become tangled with the lifelines, safety harnesses, etc. Therefore, the present invention addresses such problems because it is relatively compact and connects securely to the safety harness to reduce the risk of it interfering with other components of the fall arrest equipment.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for an energy absorber assembly and components thereof.